The Texas Tribune reports:

As Texas’ coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to break records for a second straight week, leaders and health experts in the largest cities are warning that the state is heading down a dangerous path and hospitals could soon be overwhelmed.

Gov. Greg Abbott struck a more urgent tone Monday, calling the increases in hospitalizations and cases across the state unacceptable. He said the state would only shut down businesses again as a last resort but cautioned that if trends don’t reverse in the coming weeks, he’d be forced to take action.

“To state the obvious, COVID-19 is now spreading at an unacceptable rate in Texas, and it must be corralled,” Abbott said during a news conference at the Texas Capitol in Austin.

Travis County and Austin-area cases dramatically increased over the weekend, surging to 6,210 on Monday, compared with about 4,991 reported Friday.

In an open letter published Sunday, Austin Mayor Steve Adler called on residents to take the threat of the coronavirus seriously. He said the risk of catching the virus is three times higher than it was two weeks ago.

“The virus is here. Infections are rising. If we want the economy to reopen fully and stay open, we have to take this seriously,” he wrote.

If cases continue to increase at this pace, Adler said officials will soon have to “choose between returning to sheltering at home or watching as our hospitals get overwhelmed and we suffer many preventable deaths.” [Continue reading…]